STOP THE INSANITY! Weekly Challenge #2

The object of this thread is to STOP THE INSANITY! of doing the same thing week in and week out to lose weight, expecting different results, and not getting them! We invite you to challenge yourself to establish a new weight loss ACTION each week and repeat it for 7 days straight. Choose whatever inspires you and will make a difference in your weight loss goal - a certain amount of water intake each day, no sweets, a certain amount or kind of exercise a day, etc.

If you don't master the action - take it on another week. Once you have mastered the action, continue that challenge but if you are not losing weight (or inches) STOP THE INSANITY! and up the anty on that goal or take on another. We will weigh in and declare our challenge(s) for the week each Monday. I will award kudos for each day you report success and at the end of the week for total pounds lost.

We will support each other by staying focussed on our successes and/or challenges of the day and week and keep our personal stories to a minimum.

Let's see how much we can lose by Valentine's Day!

mscat-All that we have is right now.
Yesterday is gone, Tomorrow is not promised, and Someday is not a day of the week!

morning Ladies...well I'm down 1lb...I think I'm gaining leg muscle from riding bike which is one reason my loss in low....my goal for this week is to ride bike 6 days and add at least 3 days of weight training..I would like to lose 2lbs this week...

well...considering that i only did my exercise tape for half of the week and then over the weekend went downhill on what i was eating...the fact that i went down 1 lb makes me happy

although, now i need really start pushing myself! i've decided to take my LSAT's this year so to motivate me on multiple levels and make sure i don't use "studying" as an excuse to not workout and stay active, this week my EXTREME challenge is for every 2 hours I study, I will exercise 30 mins that day! I would like to do this at least 4/7 this week! whew! i am definitely going to need some support on this ladies. but the LSAT's are on 6/12 and my birthday is 6/13!!! I would love to ROCK the test AND feel and look amazing on my birthday!!! so with this double incentive I am really going to try hard to push myself and stay disciplined!

Just as a general comment, I must say I really do appreciate all the honesty that is on this thread and just reading how you ladies are doing keeps me going...best of luck to everyone on their challenge this week!!

I am kinda blah...I got NOTHING for my birthday yesterday. I am trying to not let it bother me, I am 39, not 10...but nothing? This is a time I could let food be my friend, but I am hoping that you all will fill that gap. My birthday is the same day every year...they knew it was coming. My step son whose birthday was the day before sure didn't get forgotten, but of course that was my doing. Sorry for whining, I'll move on now

WTG on the Onderland, Bonnie!!

WTG on losing 1 pound to Donna and Phatpanda!

I am going to continue to increase my exercise and that is the only goal I have at this point. I have been attempting to run my stairs, there are 12 stairs to my basement and I have been running them twice each time I go get laundry! They are kinda steep, too. I will add another run as this becomes easier. I want to go to the gym 3 times this week as well. I hope this week goes better than last!

Cindi, I don't care if you're 39 or 99, it's not right to get zip on your birthday. And it's not like you're living alone on a desert island with cats who have no pocket money... I think when you're in a calm mood, you might want to make it clear to EVERYONE that you deserve and expect to be treated with respect and consideration, and that even if diamonds are out of the question, a single red rose and a candlelit dinner (for instance) would show that you are loved and appreciated. Maybe that could be your birthday gift to yourself, a demand for the respect you deserve. I'll get off my now. It just makes my blood boil to see these little acts of cruelty and selfishness. How's about a from your sisters here at Insanity central? (Sorry - make that Stop the Insanity ..

Congrats to all on pounds lost. I forgot to mention mine - 2.5 lbs, but that's over two weeks, I think.

Last week we had a number of participants "Stop the Insanity" with their weight loss goals and it showed up on the scales!

Cindi and down 2lbs and a Happy Birthday to boot!
acire - and 3.6lbs down
Cat - and down 2lbs!
happy -
Sushi -
pebbles - and down 1lb!
phatpanda and down 1lb
Selina
carla - and 2.5 lbs down

and our Queen of Stop the Insanity . . .
Bonnie for 5 days of exercise and 2 days of walking and 7lbs down

If I missed anyone or forgot a day of - let me know. I try to go back and recap from the previous posts who did what but I am not always accurate. Let's stretch our goals so that everyone reports a loss next Monday! What an awesome group of WOW (Women of Wonder) we are. Your goals for the next week sound great.

__________________ All we have is right now. Yesterday is gone, Tomorrow is not promised, and Someday is not a day of the week!Short Term Goal

Cindi, I'm so sorry about your bday. So far it hasn't happened here, but heaven help my loved ones if they don't even send a card over. Geez! I'm with Carla, tell them it hurt your feelings and I bet it wouldn't happen again. Sometimes ppl just take us for granted. It's up to us to correct the situation if we want to see a change. Good luck with the chat~ (assuming you wanna take our advice. You definitely don't have to. We just think you deserve more considering all that you do for everyone else.)

Hiya to pebbles, mscat, and everyone here. Great week u guys.. let's keep at it. I am sore from diving back in but I know I'll get used to it all.

Sushi - Hang in there. As others have said there can be lots of reasons for that gain - even if you are doing all the right things! Be aware that according one of the top weight loss gurus (can't remember his name) there are four basic steps to weight loss. Eating right, drinking water, exercise, and SLEEP. Check out this article on the subject:http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/...ght-gain_x.htm

I do great on the other 3 but I bet if I could master getting enough sleep it would make a real difference in my metabolism!

Selina on losing 8lbs since December and on having a great week.

__________________ All we have is right now. Yesterday is gone, Tomorrow is not promised, and Someday is not a day of the week!Short Term Goal

Thank you so much for the article, Mscat! You're such a wonderful leader and inspire me so much.

I honestly hope it's the sleep deprivation - so far I haven't been able to get back into a proper sleep routine since Christmas. I haven't been exercising as much as I normally would, partially because of tiredness, but I certainly haven't been eating more. It says in the article "Scientists have found that sleep deprivation increases levels of a hunger hormone and decreases levels of a hormone that makes you feel full." -- that would totally explain why I've been feeling hungry and nearly ravenous around 9-10 am each morning recently.

Mmmm, I got really great sleep last night, and met both of my goals for Monday. Feels good.

Bonnie, no, I don't record my calories (everything is in kilojoules here, and I can't seem to figure things out), but I have a very set meal plan right now and pretty much eat the same thing and the same quantities each day. I wasn't eating more, apart from one day when I was so hungry at work in the morning that I had to get a sandwich.

I found this from the Daily Motivator - I think it really speaks to all of us on this thread.

ACTION IN PLACE OF EXCUSES

It is easy to make up excuses to tell to yourself. For you can choose to believe anything you say to yourself.
But what do those excuses accomplish? Where do they take you?

It's easy to use your thinking to rationalize your way out of taking action. Without much effort, you can think of plenty of good, believable reasons for not making the effort.

At some point, though, you must ask yourself this question. Do you want your life to be filled with excuses or with accomplishment?

In fact, each time you catch yourself thinking up an excuse or rationalization, ask yourself that question. Challenge yourself to consciously choose whether or not you wish to accomplish.

When you force yourself to look at it that way, the excuses will begin to look pretty silly and useless. The more you remind yourself of the value of accomplishment, the more you will take action instead of making up excuses.

And the more you take action, the more you will achieve.

-- Ralph Marston

Let us all STOP THE INSANITY of making excuses and instead make accomplishments happen with action!

__________________ All we have is right now. Yesterday is gone, Tomorrow is not promised, and Someday is not a day of the week!Short Term Goal

I am doing well, I got on the scale this am and it went down quite a bit...I am excited!! But it's not weigh in day so I have to stay motivated to keep it from going back up!!! Thanks for all the support about my birthday issue. I did talk to my DH and he knows how upset I was now. I don't know what that means, but we will see.

Today I had an interview with a potential client for childcare services so I did my exercise/heavy duty cleaning spree this morning...I worked up a sweat and I think it paid off!! The interview went well!! I still have some laundry/stair challenges to do tonight. But I am not sleeping well, so I am tired and not sure I'll get to it all!!

You ladies are doing so well, you are a great inspiration to me!! Keep up the good work...we aren't going to be "Fat Chicks" for long!!!